Q: I have talked to a limited number of people who are football gurus, but no one seems to be able to tell me what is wrong with Tim Tebow? I have listened to those experts on CBS and FOX pre-game shows, but no one says why he can not be a quarterback. He started with Denver as a rookie, in a shortened season, with no practice with the new team, and had to start cold, but then all I hear is Tim is no quarterback. ... So I will attempt to ask you the question everyone else seems to know but me. What is wrong with Tim Tebow?

A: Bill, talk to people in the NFL, including teammates of Tebow's and those who have coached him, and often it's like they are discussing two different people.

There is Tebow the person, the guy away from the field. He is well liked, his work ethic is respected and folks see nothing but good intentions and admirable traits.

That he's genuine and means what he says.

The other side of the equation is the football side. And from the football side of things there are fundamental, technical issues people in the league, people who have studied players for decades, say Tebow must repair if he is going to try to continue as a quarterback.

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His throwing mechanics are flawed. His arm swing and his footwork don't match when he delivers the ball.

And even in a read-option offense in the NFL, the quarterback is going to have to throw with consistency and accuracy. Colin Kaepernick was a 62 percent passer this season, Russell Wilson was 64 percent. Robert Griffin III was 66 percent.

It mostly has to do with the fact Tebow often lifts his back foot before he has released the ball, causing him to diminish his ability to use his lower-body strength to deliver the ball.

Tim Tebow (Denver Post file photo)

As a result, he's often trying to muscle a throw, with upper-body strength only, with a motion more suited to baseball, and the ball often sails or dives so he has difficulty maintaining any kind of accuracy. He has worked on this, at times, with Denver-based strength and conditioning coach Loren Landow, as well as with the Broncos coaches, but it continues to be an issue for him.

He also often varies his release point, which also impacts his accuracy. And when he makes changes in his delivery, he does not always hold the changes when under stress in games.

It wasn't as big an issue when he threw in college because receivers were open by two or three steps at Florida. In the NFL, with the far tighter throwing windows, it's also why many of his biggest plays were deep against single coverage when he could throw out over the receiver or on routes that crossed in front of him, with the receiver facing him.

Teams understood that, however, and played coverages to take those routes away more and more as the 2011 season wound down.

Tebow's other issue, at least among personnel people, is the swirl he brings with him these days. Tebow isn't necessarily the problem. But his advisors, the people who make marketing and other business decisions for him, want him in the public eye as much as possible.

Tim Tebow (Denver Post file photo)

Some personnel people see him as potentially divisive because his off-the-field popularity doesn't always match his on-the-field performance. That was especially true in New York when the Jets rarely used him and he was still the only backup quarterback in the league with his own media session.

Those types of things are often a problem in the locker room. They really become a problem for a team that has other struggles along the way. And there are some people in the NFL who watched what happened with the Jets this season and say they would be nervous about signing Tebow because of it.

On the field, Tebow faces a decision heading into this offseason. He can continue to be a quarterback and hope a team will give him a chance. Most teams will hesitate until they see some progress on the mechanics. Or he can openly say he will try another position and go about trying to make a roster through that avenue.

But most believe the Jets will set him free, either by trade or release, at some point and that Tebow will be looking to play for his third team in the last three years with his hometown Jaguars having already said they're not interested.

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